Method of securing soles to last-bottoms



c. c. BLAKE.

METHOD OF SECURING SOLES T0 LASI BOTTOMS.

APPL1 CATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1915.

1,365,221. Patented Jan. 11,1921.

UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES C. BLAKJa'oF BRO-UOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD OF SECURING SOLES TO LAST-BOTTOMS.

To all whom it may concern: p

Beit known that I, CHARLES C. BLAKE,

a citizen of theyUnited State's, residing-at Brookline," in the countyof Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Methods" of Se curing Soles to Last-Bottoms, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of boots and shoes;

In the manufacture of shoes the insoles of welt shoes and the-bettergrades of McKay shoes, and the outsoles of-turn shoesfiare secured tothe lasts used in the shoe bottoming operations by tacks driven deeplyinto the bottoms thereof. L The use of these tacks greatly damages thelasts,--requires*separate operations for their insertion andyremoval,

and necessitates the servicesof a reliable inspector to insure that.alltheso1e-tacks are, removed. -,U;sually the soles aresecured to thelasts by a fewtacks driven along the median" line of the; sole! Thispractice makes it d-i'fiicultfof the sole to conform to the bottom ofthe last. Moreover,fasg the margin of the sole is free, specialprecautions must be taken to prevent it from buckling underthe strainsof the pullingover and lasting operations. 1 These precautions usuallytake the form ofa sole-rest for engaging. the margin' ofthe sole nearthe operating point, of mechanism for'actuating the pulling-over orlasting pincer duringthe updraw movement in a direction slightly awayfrom the edge of thesole so a'sto prevent the upper: from dragging overthe edge'ofthe sole an'dthus causing the margin of the sole to buckle,or of special last constructions. Furthermore it:iS necessary to fillthe holes made inthe sole by the sole tacks with rubber'cement if it isdesired tojprevent-the seepage of water therethrough and thefconsequentwetting ofthe "wearers feet. Objviously. the use of tacks forsecuringsolesw'to thebottom' ofshoe lasts seriously affects the cost ofmaking shoes. v

One objectof the present inventionis to provide *a simple, cheap "-andeffective method of securing. the soles to the bottom of the lasts. K1 1f I To thewaecomplishment of-ithisobject.v a

' feature of the present invention contem platesathe cementing "of thesoleto' the bottom of the last. f By this: method: the useofSpecification of Letters Patent. Patented J an, 11, 'Application filedSeptember 16, 1915. Serial No. 51,099. i

hesive. carrierlinterposed between the 1 and the bottom of'the last;

tacks is obviated, the sole readily conforms to the shape of the lastbottom, the sole is not perforated, and all danger of the solebuckling'under the strains of the lastin operationis avoided without theaid of a ditional mechanism or. apparatus.

Broadly considered merely the margin of the sole maybe cemented to thebottom of the last. It is preferred,however, to secure the sole to thebottom of the last at contiguous points distributed over the entirecontacting surface of the sole and last. This mannerof securing the soleto the bottom of the last forms. aninip'ortant'feature of the presentinvention.

e In its broadest aspectsthe invention .contemplates interposinggthe.adhesive. between the sole and the bottom .ofthe last in any suitablemanner found desirable *or expeclient. For economlc reasons it 1spreferred to interpose a carrier" of; the, adhesive between the soleandthe bottom of the last as the proper amount of adhesive maybe loaded onthe carrier to make a good joint I without waste.

-. Heretofore in preparing soles for the .shoe' bottoming operationsitthas beenthe practice to roughly die out the soles and then bringthemto the required shapein a rounding machine before they are secured to"the bottom of the .last. With this method variations occur in the $016which prevent its ,proper' fitting to the last bottom. I

the advantages of which will be readily.

understood by those skilled in the art.

The various features of the presentinvention will be readily understoodfrom an inspection. of the accompanylng drawings, inwhic'hp 1 v Figure 1is an elevation showing the "adsole F ig. 2 is anelevationshowing thesole secured to the bottom-of the; last l r Fig. 3 is a plan of theroughly died out sole; and

Fig. 4c is a plan of a sole trimmed to the edge of the last.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the roughly died out sole1 which is to be secured to the bottom of a last 2 is first providedwith a coat of shellac and is then tempered by immersion in water. Theshellac prevents the wetting of the grain side of the sole which istheside exposed in the finished shoe.

The adhesive employed to secure the sole to the bottom ofthe last ispara'flin. In order to introduce the paraffin between the sole andlastin a quantity sufficient to make a good joint without waste theparaffin is carried by a sheet of surgeons gauze or cheese cloth 3. Thegauze is carried in a roll 4: rotatably mounted on a bracket 5conveniently positioned near the operating point. A portion of the gauzeisdrawn from the roll and passed between a pair of rolls 6 and 7 into abath 8 containing the hot paraflin. From the bath 8 the gauze passesbetween the roll 7 and a third roll 9 which strips the gauze ofsuperfluous adhesiveu The gauze loaded with the adhesive isxthen placedin position on the'bottom of the last. l

The roughly died out sole is now placed in position over the gauze andpressed down thereon. Preferably the sole pressing op eration isperformed in a sole laying machine which is provided with a laying padsuch as disclosedin application for Letters Patent of the United States,Serial No.

789,325, filed byme September 11, 1913.

After. the roughly died out sole is set in position on the last bottomthe projecting margins of the sole and gauze are trimmed to the edge ofthe supporting last. Obviously this manner of rounding the sole must beproductive of a sole which accurately fits the bottom of the last. M

The sole may be stripped from the last at any time after the sewingoperation. Preferably the sole and last are separated prior to theheeling operation as the shoe is heat ed to dry the outsole inpreparation for this operation and advantage maybe taken of this heatingof the shoe to melt the paraflin sufficiently to separate the sole andlast.

It will. be readily understood that any adhesive material may beemployed for Se.

curing the insole to the last bottom. I prefer to use parafiin as ithasthe properties of forming a thin film upon the gauze and of quicklysetting. In fact 'the'laying of the sole upon the parafiin chills itsufficiently to make the operations'ofattaching and setting the soleupon the last bottom substantially simultaneous. Obviously parafiin isan economic material to use. The use of parafiin also permits the lastand sole to pass directly to the next operating station as anintermediate drying operation is not necessary.

Vhile the illustrated embodiment of the present invention is directed toa method for use in making the shoe devised by me, it will be apparentto those skilled in the art that the methods herein disclosed may beadvantageously employed in the manufacture of other kinds of shoes, suchfor instance, as turns, McKays and Goodyears.

.anadhesive'carrier on the bottom of the last and pressing a sole uponthe adhesive carrierto join the sole to the last, substantially asdescribed. i

"2. That improvement in the art of securing solesto lasts which consistsin loading a carrier with the proper amount of adhesive to make a goodjoint witho'utiwaste, placing the loaded carrier upon the bottom of thelast, and pressing a sole upon the carrier to join the sole to the last,substantially as described.

3. That improvement in the art of securing soles to lasts which consistsin saturating a sheet of fabric with an adhesive,

placing the saturated sheet upon the bottom of a last, and pressing asole upon the sheet to join the sole to the last, substantially asdescribed.

4. That improvement in the art of'secur- 'ing soles to lasts whichconsists in interposing between the sole and the bottom of the last asheet of fabric saturated with an adhesive, andpressing the sole, sheetand last together, substantially as described.

i 5. That improvement in the art of propa-ring soles for the shoe"bottoming operations which'consists in roughly dieing out thesoleyplacing a sheet of fabric saturated with an adhesive upon thebottom of a last, pressing the roughly died out sole upon the sheet offabric to join the sole to the last, and trimming the projecting marginsof the sole and sheet of fabric on the bottom of the last tothe edgethereof, substantially as described; i i

6. A step product of the last and sole assembling operation in thermanufacture of a shoe comprising a last and a soleseoured to thebottomlof the last by an adhesive.

7. A step product of the 1ast andlsole assembling operation in themanufacture of a shoe comprising a last and a sole secured to the bottomof the last by parafiin.

8. A step product of the last and sole assembling operation in themanufacture of a shoe comprising a last, a sole, and a sheet of fabricsaturated With an adhesive securing the sole to the last.

9. A step product of the last and sole as 10 sembling operation in themanufacture of a shoe comprising a last, a sole, and a sheet semblingoperation in the manufacture of a shoe comprising a last and a solesecured thereto by a fastening means whlch prevents the buckling of themargin of the sole under the strains of the lastin operation.

CHAR ES C. BLAKE.

